Maria Cristalli

My work explores energy and the enduring myth of the blacksmith as an alchemist. Through the application of heat, force, and intention, I transform steel drawn from the earth.

The material is both subject and collaborator. My process is rooted in material study while also engaging broader ideas of energy, transformation, and the natural world.

By shaping steel into abstract forms that reference plant life, the earth, and the sun, the work reflects cycles of growth, pressure, and change, revealing the quiet vitality embedded within a seemingly inert material.

Artist statement, in her own words

The Record

Practice · Provenance · Reach

Studio

Cle Elum, Washington — working from a forge in the Cascade foothills.

Practice

Forged steel sculpture. Wall pieces and floor sculptures. Often incorporates wood, gold leaf, bronze accents in finished works.

Web

mariacristalli.com

Currently Featured

Material Mediations — May 2026, Bainbridge Island and Park City

Selected Works · Material Mediations May 2026

All works available unless noted. Inquire for shipping and installation. Pieces ship from Cle Elum, Washington.

Iron Sun

23″ × 23″ × 2.5″

Rusted circle with radiating textured pieces.

$10,000

Carbon Record

19″ × 11″ × 1.75″

Wall piece with vertical forged elements and wood circle.

$7,000

Standing with the Moon II
Photograph available on request

Standing with the Moon II

7′ × 17″ × 17″

Tall piece with gold leaf part.

$6,500

Fracture and Alignment
Photograph available on request

Fracture and Alignment

16″ × 24″ × 5.5″

Wall piece with three forged columnar basalt pieces.

$5,800

After Burn
Photograph available on request

After Burn

21″ × 20″ × 2.5″

Wall piece with vertical forged elements and gold bits.

$3,200

Inner Flame

11″ × 17″ × 1.75″

Steel panels with bronze center.

$2,500

Cinder Spine
Photograph available on request

Cinder Spine

8.5″ × 25″ × 3″

Wall piece with vertical forged elements.